Technology Pioneer and Philanthropist Kanwal Rekhi to Receive Distinguished Service Award from California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Institute of Integral Studies will present its 2010 Haridas and Bina Chaudhuri Award for Distinguished Service to technology pioneer and philanthropist Kanwal Rekhi. CIIS will recognize Rekhi at a gala dinner on Saturday, April 24, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, California.

"Kanwal Rekhi's work has improved thousands of lives, from leaders of high tech industry in the U.S. to deserving students here and in India," says CIIS President Joseph L. Subbiondo. "Through his work with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) he has counseled and aided an entire generation of innovators as they have changed Silicon Valley."

Renowned for his work developing the technology that allows computers in a building or campus to network, Kanwal Rekhi was born in Rawalpindi in what is now Pakistan. Raised in India the third of eight children, he came to the United States to earn a master's degree in electrical engineering in Michigan. At first he did odd jobs as a student, working as a dishwasher, busboy, doorman, and factory welder.

After graduating and moving to San Jose, at the age of thirty-six he cofounded and served as CEO of Excelan, a high tech company. Excelan pioneered Ethernet networking technology, one of the basic building blocks of the Internet.

More recently Kanwal Rekhi has helped energize The Indus Entrepreneurs, or TiE, a nonprofit support network to provide advice, contacts, and funding to Indian Americans hoping to start businesses. As a philanthropist, he has made major contributions to education, supporting universities on two continents. He is a prime benefactor of a foundation in India that identifies talented students without funds, and provides them with college tuition and living expenses.

The Haridas and Bina Chaudhuri Award for Distinguished Service is named in honor of the two cofounders of CIIS, who came to the United States in 1951 to synthesize the knowledge of the East and the West.

About CIIS

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a nationally recognized leader in integral education. CIIS has an enrollment of 1,300 students pursuing degrees in twenty-two academic programs in its schools of Professional Psychology, Consciousness and Transformation, and Undergraduate Studies. In addition, CIIS hosts a vibrant array of events through its Public Programs division, including workshops, concerts, and conferences. The Institute sponsors six award-winning counseling centers offering low-cost mental health services in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information about CIIS, visit www.ciis.edu.

Contact: James David Martin

415.575.6165; [email protected]

SOURCE California Institute of Integral Studies